Echoes of the Atlantic: Portugal Late Neolithic

Along the wind-battered coasts and quiet interior tombs of western Iberia, communities that archaeologists group as Portugal_LN_C emerged between about 3700 and 2000 BCE. The material record — dolmens, megalithic tombs and settlement debris from sites such as Dolmen de Ansião, Cova da Moura and Monte Canelas 1 — evokes a landscape shaped by ritual architecture, pastoralism and growing exchange networks.

Archaeological data indicates continuity with earlier Neolithic farming traditions, while Chalcolithic horizons show increased long-distance connections: exotic stone tools, new pottery styles and elaborate burial practices. This cultural horizon sits at the threshold between the Neolithic world of local farming communities and the more mobile, hierarchical societies that later characterize the Copper Age.

Limited evidence suggests these communities maintained strong local lifeways even as exchange intensified: megalithic monuments continued to anchor regional identities while trade and small-scale migrations introduced new goods and ideas. Given the small genetic sample set (n=5), conclusions about population origins remain preliminary, but the combined archaeological and genetic picture hints at a community tapestry woven from deep local roots and intermittent outside threads.

Genome-wide data from five individuals (sample count = 5) assigned to Portugal_LN_C provide a tentative genetic snapshot. Paternal lineages are dominated by haplogroup I (three individuals), with one occurrence of haplogroup H. Maternal lineages among the sampled individuals include U, J, K and H.

The predominance of Y-haplogroup I in this small set is consistent with persistence of lineages linked to long-established European hunter‑gatherer and early farmer interactions in Atlantic Iberia. The single H Y‑lineage is notable but must be treated cautiously; haplogroup H is relatively uncommon in ancient western Europe and its presence in one sample could reflect rare local diversity or low-frequency migration. Mitochondrial diversity (U, J, K, H) suggests maternal lineages typical of Neolithic and Chalcolithic Europe, indicating continuity alongside admixture.

Archaeological patterns of regional continuity and intermittent exchange align with a genetic picture of local ancestry with some influxes. Because the dataset is small (<10 samples), all genetic inferences are preliminary: additional sampling across sites and time slices is required to test hypotheses about migration, sex-biased gene flow, and the timing of external influences in Late Neolithic–Chalcolithic Portugal.